What maintenance should every household do before storm season?

Before storm season: test and service the generator — fresh fuel, clean spark plug, oil change if overdue, start it under load for 30 minutes. Service the chainsaw — sharp chain, full bar oil, fresh fuel mix. Check tire pressure and tread on all vehicles. Clear gutters and downspouts. Trim any limbs over or near the roof. Confirm the HVAC filter is current and the outdoor unit is clear of debris. These six tasks cover the most common maintenance-related failures during and immediately after storms.

How do I prepare a generator that's been sitting in storage?

A generator stored for more than 30 days without fuel stabilizer requires a fresh start procedure: drain the old fuel from the tank and carburetor bowl (the small bolt on the bottom of the carburetor), replace the spark plug, change the oil if it's been more than a year or 50 hours, add fresh fuel with stabilizer, and start the generator and run it under load for 20–30 minutes. Test it at least twice a year — once before hurricane season and once before winter. A generator that starts during a test will start during a storm. One that's never been tested since purchase may not.

How often should I change my HVAC filter?

Standard 1-inch filters: every 1–3 months depending on filter type and household conditions (pets, allergies, and dusty environments require more frequent changes). Thicker media filters (4–5 inch): every 6–12 months. A clogged filter reduces airflow, makes the system work harder, increases energy use, and can cause the system to freeze up in cooling mode or overheat in heating mode. The filter slot is typically located at the air handler or return air duct — hold the filter up to a light. If you can't see light through it, change it.

Home Self-Reliance Skills Maintain

Self-Reliance · Skills · Maintain

Maintain

The systems that fail during emergencies are almost always the ones that weren't maintained before them.

HVAC, vehicles, generators, chainsaws, hand tools, and trees. The maintenance work that keeps household systems functional in ordinary life — and available when they're needed most.

Start with HVAC All six skills

What this category covers

Maintenance is the preparedness work that happens before anything breaks.

Most household system failures during emergencies aren't caused by the emergency — they're caused by deferred maintenance the emergency reveals. The generator that failed on the third day of the power outage wasn't broken by the storm. It had been stored for two years with old fuel and a clogged carburetor jet, and the storm was simply the first time anyone tried to start it since.

This is the pattern across every Maintain skill. HVAC systems that shut down during heat waves have clogged filters or dirty coils that were never cleaned. Vehicles that strand evacuating families have tires that were never checked and batteries that were never tested. Chainsaws that won't run have dull chains, old fuel, and spark plugs that haven't been replaced in three years.

The maintenance in this category is almost entirely preventive. It takes less time, costs less money, and requires less skill than the repair it prevents. And it has an added quality that reactive repair doesn't: it can be scheduled, practiced, and completed at a calm time rather than an urgent one.

The maintenance case for each system

HVAC: A maintained system keeps the household within survivable temperature ranges during heat waves, cold snaps, and wildfire smoke events. A clogged filter or dirty coil reduces efficiency by 15–25% and can cause failure during peak load — exactly when temperatures are most extreme.

Vehicles: Transportation, evacuation tool, and potentially mobile shelter. A vehicle that breaks down during an evacuation under its own deferred maintenance load is a different situation from one that fails from an unforeseen mechanical problem.

Small engines: Generators and chainsaws sit unused for 10–11 months per year. The ones that start during a storm are the ones that were serviced before the storm and started under test at least twice in the year before.

Tools: A dull blade, a dead battery pack, a rusted hand tool — these aren't emergencies. They're maintenance failures that reduce the household's repair capacity exactly when it's needed.

Trees: Overhanging limbs are a roof liability during ice storms and wind. Dense brush near the house is a fire risk. Tree maintenance prevents storm damage and fire exposure before they occur.

About skill levels in Maintain: Most maintenance tasks are Level 1 or Level 2 — they don't require specialized knowledge, only the right information and the habit of doing them. Level 3 situations appear where gas systems, high-voltage electrical (HVAC refrigerant), or large tree work near structures are involved. Every page specifies the level for each task.

Six Maintain skills

Start with what your household relies on most.

L1 L2

HVAC Maintenance

Filter changes, coil cleaning, vent inspection, seasonal checks, and thermostat verification. The maintenance that keeps heat and cooling available when temperatures are most extreme.

Start here — highest preparedness value per hour invested.

L1 L2

Vehicle Maintenance

Oil, tires, battery, fluids, belts, wipers, and fuses. Roadside kit. Jump-starting. Warning lights and what they actually mean. The maintenance that keeps evacuation transportation reliable.

A vehicle is part transportation, part evacuation tool.

L1 L2

Small Engine Repair

Generators, chainsaws, mowers, tillers, snowblowers, and pressure washers. Fuel storage, spark plugs, oil changes, carburetor basics. The maintenance that makes engines start on first pull.

Generators and saws sit unused until they're critical. Maintain before the storm.

Tool Maintenance

Sharpening, oiling, rust prevention, battery care, handle repair, and safe storage. Tools are a household force multiplier. A dull, corroded, or dead tool is not preparedness.

The only L1-only skill in this category — and among the most overlooked.

Maintenance Calendar

Turn maintenance from memory into a recurring system. Monthly checks, seasonal task lists, annual service items, and a repair log that tracks what was done and when it is due again.

The operating system that makes every other Maintain skill stick.

L2 L3

Tree & Brush Work

Pruning, limb removal, storm cleanup, firebreak maintenance, and safe saw use. Clear limits on when to call a certified arborist. Trees affect roofs, power lines, fire risk, and access roads.

L2/L3 — read the limits before picking up a chainsaw.

L1 Household Basic — no prior experience required

L2 Capable Homeowner — requires tools and some practice

L3 Advanced / Use Caution — requires experience or professional instruction

The maintenance calendar

Maintenance has a season. So do most emergencies.

Hurricane season, wildfire season, ice storm season, and heat waves all arrive on a rough schedule. Maintenance that happens before the season means systems are available for the season. The calendar below covers the critical maintenance windows across the five Maintain skills.

Spring (March–May)

HVAC: switch from heat to cool, change filter, clear outdoor unit of winter debris
Generator: fresh fuel + stabilizer, oil check, test run under load for 30 minutes
Vehicle: tire check after winter potholes, wiper blades, battery load test
Trees: storm damage pruning, clearance check for overhanging limbs

Summer (June–August)

HVAC: filter change (monthly in high-use months), condensate line check
Generator: pre-storm-season test run; fuel stabilizer in any stored fuel
Trees: brush clearing near structures for fire season (where applicable)
Vehicle: coolant level, tire pressure check (heat changes pressure), AC function

Fall (September–November)

HVAC: switch to heat, change filter, test heat function before cold weather
Generator: pre-winter service, fresh fuel, full test run
Snowblower: fresh fuel, impeller check, belt inspection before first snow
Vehicle: winter tires if applicable, battery test, antifreeze check
Tools: sharpen, oil, and store garden tools before winter

Winter (December–February)

HVAC: filter check, keep outdoor unit clear of snow/ice accumulation
Generator: monthly start and test run for stored generators
Vehicle: winter emergency kit check, tire pressure (drops in cold), battery
Trees: storm damage assessment after significant ice or snow loads

Where to start

HVAC first — the highest preparedness value per hour in this category.

A single HVAC filter change takes 10 minutes, costs $5–$30, and directly affects both energy efficiency and system reliability. It should happen every 1–3 months depending on filter type — and most households do it far less often than that.

If you have a generator

Test it now, before any storm is forecast. Fresh fuel, fresh spark plug if it's been more than a year, oil check, 30-minute loaded run. A generator that starts today will start during a storm. One that's never been tested may not. The small engine repair page covers the complete pre-season service procedure.

If you're starting from scratch

The home maintenance binder in Start Here is the right foundation. Recording when filters were changed, when the generator was last serviced, and when tires were rotated is what makes maintenance systematic rather than reactive.

The two questions that reveal deferred maintenance

When was the generator last started and run under load? When was the vehicle's battery last tested? Most households either know the answer immediately (and it's recent) or discover they don't actually know — which is itself an answer.

HVAC Maintenance

Connected categories and domains

Fix

Maintenance prevents Fix tasks; Fix tasks often reveal what maintenance was missed. The two categories work together.

Protect

Weatherization and HVAC maintenance overlap — keeping conditioned air in and weather out are related problems.

Self-Reliance: Energy

Backup power planning and generator selection — the strategy side of what small engine maintenance makes functional.

Self-Reliance: Transportation

Evacuation routes, vehicle go-bag planning, and transportation resilience — where vehicle maintenance connects to the larger picture.

All Skills categories